Nosema ceranae is an obligate intracellular fungal parasite that causes mortality in honey bees and enhances the susceptibility of honey bees to other pathogens. Efficient purification of Nosema spores from the midgut of infected honey bees is very important because Nosema is non-culturable and only seasonably available. To achieve a higher yield of spores from honey bees, in this study, we considered that the initial release of spores from the midgut tissues was the most critical step. The use of 2 mm beads along with enzymatic treatment with collagenase and trypsin enhanced the homogenization of tissues and the yield of released spores by approximately 2.95 times compared with the use of common 3 mm beads alone. The optimal time for the enzyme treatment was determined to be 1 hr as measured by the yield and viability of the spores. A one-step filtration using a filter paper with an 8-11 µm pore size was sufficient for removing cell debris. This method may be useful to purify not only N. ceranae spores but also other Nosema spp. spores.
Keywords: Honey bee; Nosema ceranae; Purification; Spore.